The divestment from Sabeco will be made on the principle of transparency, ensuring the highest benefit to the State and based on market price. (Photo: cafef.vn Hanoi (VNA) - The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has announcedthe State divestment from Sai Gon Beer Alcohol Beverage Joint Stock Company,better known as Sabeco.
The divestmentwill be made on the principle of transparency, ensuring the highest benefit tothe State, based on market price, securing foreign ownership in accordance withlaw and proposing solutions to preserve and develop the Vietnamese beer’s brandname, MoIT said.
Importantinformation such as the size of the share sale, initial selling price and thenumber of shares offered to foreign investors has not been disclosed as thedetailed plan is still being built, which MoIT expects to complete by Decemberthis year.
The sale willbe conducted in a competitive offering of shares among eligible investors inaccordance with the regulations relevant to the share sale in Sabeco set by theMoIT.
The sale isforecast to be worth up to trillions of Vietnamese dong andwill attract the attention of both domestic and foreign investors.
To ensure thehighest efficiency of the divestment, MoIT has asked the State SecuritiesCommission, the HCM Stock Exchange and the Ministry of Public Security to closelyoversee the trading of Sabeco’s shares, coded SAB on the HCM Stock Exchange,through this year-end to detect and prevent unusual transactions.
Sabeco is Vietnam’slargest beer producer, which holds about 40 percent of the nation’s 6.5billion USD beer market and is attractive to foreign investors.
However,Bloomberg earlier reported that some potential foreign bidders for Sabeco’sshares said the company is being overvalued at its current share price.
Sabeco’s shareshave declined for seven straight sessions to nearly 271,000 VND per share (11.94USD) on November 15, but it has still recorded a strong growth of over 37percent since the start of this year.-VNA
